I saw this over on Wakeworld and thought that in the light of the Mastercraft Lawsuit you guys would find this interesting. Looks like parents let their 14 year old Daugter take out a waverunner. She was heading towards a boat, let off the throttle and could not steer. Sadly she was killed, another girl was severly injured. Bottom line, Jury ruled that Yamaha was at fault because their product would not steer without throttle, 100 million. One girl dead, another has a horrbile quality of life. Link is below.

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=788105

Kyle

06-14-2011, 12:17 AM

Very sad someone lost their life. I hate jet skis. Most people driving them don't realize no power = no steering. Very sad. 14yrs old is too young. Parents are no so smart sometimes. Bet they wish they would have said NO to her riding.

psychobilly

06-14-2011, 06:12 AM

I'm with you Kyle, I HATE Jet Skis!!! They should outlaw them forever. Sad deal here.....

DooSPX

06-14-2011, 08:37 AM

Personally, I love them. Raced them for years, and love to ride. I think they should be 18yo or older and required to take a driving course with one before you come home with one off the lot.
Sea-Doo has OPAS (off power assistant steering), two little rudders that drop down when you let off the throttle. They also now have a water brake system too.

They are trying to change the sport for the better.

Jeff d

06-14-2011, 08:55 AM

They should outlaw them forever.

There are plenty of fishermen and lakehouse owners that would be happy to see our watersports become illegal too.

I don't have a problem with the equipment it's just some of the people operating them. Just like I don't have a problem with crazy loud Bajas that can go 80 MPH but rather the Jersey Shore wanna bes and their typical style of operation.

In open water or on deserted bayous PWCs can be a ton of fun and relatively safe in the right hands. Most of the problems are when they're added to the mix on a typical summer Saturday on the river/lake. If people were operating dirtbikes on the interstate during rush hour in a crazy manner (i.e. opposing traffic flow, jumping medians to try to catch air, doing burnouts, underage and/or intoxicated operators, etc.) while everyone else was generally following the rules would people be calling for the outlaw of dirtbikes themselves or just the behavior?

aquaman

06-14-2011, 09:23 AM

The injured + deceased would have also faced danger and could have sustained injuries had they operated a car, a skil-saw, a chain saw or a gun.

It does not matter whether you like jet skis or not.

HELLO.....THOUSANDS of people operate jet skis daily without any mishaps.

Last Friday at Lake lewisville a guy in a slow moving pontoon boat ran over a swimmer (she was outside the bouys) and lost her leg from the knee down. Stupid stuff happens ALL THE TIME on water... this is yet another.

That same night a drunk guy ran his Lexus into the lake... he lived.

DemolitionMan

06-14-2011, 09:58 AM

Last Friday at Lake lewisville a guy in a slow moving pontoon boat ran over a swimmer (she was outside the bouys) and lost her leg from the knee down. Stupid stuff happens ALL THE TIME on water... this is yet another.

When others stop giving them a pass for what they do. Unfortunately, those of us who don't, are in the minority.

chawk610

06-14-2011, 10:14 AM

Who's fault was it Lexus or the beer companies?

Both I think... we gotta class action going!!! lol

plunk77

06-14-2011, 11:08 AM

Who's fault was it Lexus or the beer companies?

Lexus because the car was unable to recognize that the driver was drunk and to not let him drive. It's obviously a design flaw. How could anything that doesn't do that be released on the market today?

chawk610

06-14-2011, 11:11 AM

Great point... but...wasn't the water a tad responsible too??? It should have seen the Lexus was out of control and retracted

Patrick Hardy

06-14-2011, 11:37 AM

Personally, I love them. Raced them for years, and love to ride. I think they should be 18yo or older and required to take a driving course with one before you come home with one off the lot.
Sea-Doo has OPAS (off power assistant steering), two little rudders that drop down when you let off the throttle. They also now have a water brake system too.

They are trying to change the sport for the better.

I also love them and have driven them for decades. They do need to be in the hands of a competent driver though and most teens are not! No surprise about the $$$ amount in todays personal injury / product liability lawsuits.

When others stop giving them a pass for what they do. Unfortunately, those of us who don't, are in the minority.

Good luck in todays politically correct world with that.

DooSPX

06-14-2011, 11:40 AM

That is actually one of the reasons why their prices are increasing besides the cost of material and labor. According to a friend from BRP Racing, he said that people are always trying to sue them for liability and they are driving the price up a small percent.

oxberger

06-14-2011, 11:50 AM

Sad situation for the girls and their families. My prayers go out to them. Personally I think the family should show some responsibility. I was 13 when I first started riding, my brother was 9 and we were riding stand ups that when you fall they circle i.e no control once you're off. The difference here is responsibility. Before either of us were allowed to ride my parents required us to take a boater safety course and pass, then and only then under very close and strict supervision were we allowed to ride. before even getting on the pwc we had instruction on the dock and in the water and what to do when we fell off. Because we took the boater safety course we knew to stay away from other boats, swimmers, and skiers. In this day and age safety is the minority, stupidity rules, and it makes it hard on the responsible ones.

pmkkdx

06-14-2011, 11:59 AM

I have to agree oxberger! times have definately changed in my lifetime ... my boat doesn't hit the lake on holiday weekends due to this ... just too many untrained & unresponsible people blasting away like they are indestructable and when something does happen, it's never their fault.

DooSPX

06-14-2011, 12:01 PM

I have to agree oxberger! times have definately changed in my lifetime ... my boat doesn't hit the lake on holiday weekends due to this ... just too many untrained & unresponsible people blasting away like they are indestructable and when something does happen, it's never their fault.

AGREE 100% !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will never be on the lake on a major weekend.

Kyle

06-14-2011, 12:24 PM

What I find very interesting is boats don't care about the jetskis. As soon as a jetski touches the water they chase down the boats to play jump wakes. Jet skis are fun to ride for 30min or less.... Then they get old.

If the ski doesn't go chasing a boat to play wakes they go find another ski to go play figure 8's. Both are a complete waste of time.

DooSPX

06-14-2011, 12:31 PM

What I find very interesting is boats don't care about the jetskis. As soon as a jetski touches the water they chase down the boats to play jump wakes. Jet skis are fun to ride for 30min or less.... Then they get old.

If the ski doesn't go chasing a boat to play wakes they go find another ski to go play figure 8's. Both are a complete waste of time.

Not for me, I personally like to just cruise around the outside edge of the lake just like cruising on a motorcycle.

But, I am not the common idiot which is 99% of the population.

oxberger

06-14-2011, 12:38 PM

Not for me, I personally like to just cruise around the outside edge of the lake just like cruising on a motorcycle.

But, I am not the common idiot which is 99% of the population.

Agree 100%. Used to love to cruise around and see the sites. I'm not saying I never jumped a wake, but I can tell you it was done responsibly. Learned my lesson the hard way. Was following my dad's boat to Hart-Miller Island in Middle River in MD, slowly getting closer to the boat for the better part of the wake. As soon as I was closer than 30 yrds. my dad yelled. When everyone got to the island, not only did I get reemed, but lost Jet Ski privledges the rest of the summer, and it was the second week in June.

BoulderX45

06-14-2011, 01:44 PM

In today's world you would loss jet ski privilege for 10 minutes and then your parents would apologize for yelling at you!

oxberger

06-14-2011, 01:51 PM

In today's world you would loss jet ski privilege for 10 minutes and then your parents would apologize for yelling at you!

That would have been on the stricter side by todays standards for parents I've observed. I think most of todays parents would have encourage either going faster, trying to jump higher, or both, then pulling up next to the boat with the Jet Ski to do a high speed high five pass.

Gofast

06-14-2011, 01:58 PM

Great point... but...wasn't the water a tad responsible too??? It should have seen the Lexus was out of control and retracted

Could tie it to Toyota's accelerator problem? Also, would the Ticket be laible to for promoting Summer Bash?

I was at the dock, but missed both accidents. I did see PWC's leaving at dark to head back to whever they came from. Lake Patrol snagged them both up just outside the Marina.

JimN

06-14-2011, 02:12 PM

I wonder if the mom smoked and/or drank while she was pregnant. If she did, I think Yamaha has grounds for a counter-suit.

plunk77

06-14-2011, 02:17 PM

Great point... but...wasn't the water a tad responsible too??? It should have seen the Lexus was out of control and retracted

actually it was the water's fault for being too close to a road to begin with. if it wasn't so close then he would've just driven off the road...maybe into a tree?

ahhudgins

06-14-2011, 04:50 PM

In today's world you would loss jet ski privilege for 10 minutes and then your parents would apologize for yelling at you!

PARENTS ARE THE PROBLEM as you stated. This past weekend, one of my son's friends (16 year old) brought a PWC to our dock that he was planning to purchase after a day long test drive. In VA all PWC operators have to pass a safety test, boats are being phased in according to driver age. The boys mom told me that their son was "certified" and she also told me he was "certified to back up a trailer". So after that comment I knew it was all B.S. As soon as the kid got the jet ski off the trailer he shot thru the marina on the wrong side of the No Wake bouys. The marina owner gave the kid an ear full when he stopped to get gas later on. The parents let their child get on a PWC that will do 60 MPH and turned him loose with no instructions. So who is responsible when he injures himself or another person? The PWC manufacturer?

scott023

06-14-2011, 04:57 PM

I have to agree oxberger! times have definately changed in my lifetime ... my boat doesn't hit the lake on holiday weekends due to this ... just too many untrained & unresponsible people blasting away like they are indestructable and when something does happen, it's never their fault.

Nail on the head. That's there is the real problem.

PA Prostar

06-14-2011, 05:00 PM

PARENTS ARE THE PROBLEM as you stated. This past weekend, one of my son's friends (16 year old) brought a PWC to our dock that he was planning to purchase after a day long test drive. In VA all PWC operators have to pass a safety test, boats are being phased in according to driver age. The boys mom told me that their son was "certified" and she also told me he was "certified to back up a trailer". So after that comment I knew it was all B.S. As soon as the kid got the jet ski off the trailer he shot thru the marina on the wrong side of the No Wake bouys. The marina owner gave the kid an ear full when he stopped to get gas later on. The parents let their child get on a PWC that will do 60 MPH and turned him loose with no instructions. So who is responsible when he injures himself or another person? The PWC manufacturer?

Possibly a trick question. We already know to rule out the parents and personal responsibility. While I've read on this post that blacktop/beer/water could be to blame, let's face it - they all have no assets. So they are out. We know the manufacurer is held liable, but they may be broke from a previous lawsuit. So could we hold the marina owner be responsible since he looked at him, talked to him, and provided gas? That's it, the gas companies!!!!!!!!!!!! That's my answer. Without gas, boats don't go and there's no accidents. Perfect.

ahhudgins

06-14-2011, 05:00 PM

There is one fact that seems consistant with this type of case. The party with the most amount of money is given the most amount of the blame.

"Further, they didn't find Yamaha totally responsible for the crash. They found Yamaha's distributor and manufacturer 88 percent responsible. They assigned 1 percent blame to both Samantha and retired neurosurgeon Dr. Eugene Holly, who let the girls take out his WaveRunner. Nicolette Archer, who took the girls to the party and gave them permission to ride, was held 10 percent responsible."

downfall of American society, I worked a case like this before in the 90s. After we did some measuring and other diagnostics we reported to the lawyers that " jetskis will only turn when power is applied ". no brainer right?